%0 Generic %1 oyarzun2017comprehensive %A Oyarzún, Grecco A. %A Blanc, Guillermo A. %A González, Valentino %A Mateo, Mario %A Bailey III, John I. %D 2017 %K LBGs Lya emission high-z %T A Comprehensive Study of Ly$\alpha$ Emission in the High-redshift Galaxy Population %U http://arxiv.org/abs/1706.01886 %X We present an exhaustive census of Lyman alpha (Ly$\alpha$) emission in the general galaxy population at $3<z<4.6$. We use the Michigan/Magellan Fiber System (M2FS) spectrograph to study a stellar mass (M$_*$) selected sample of 625 galaxies homogeneously distributed in the range $7.6<\mboxM$_*$/M$_ødot$<10.6$. Our sample is selected from the 3D-HST/CANDELS survey, which provides the complementary data to estimate Ly$\alpha$ equivalent widths ($W_Ly\alpha$) and escape fractions ($f_esc$) for our galaxies. We find both quantities to anti-correlate with M$_*$, star-formation rate (SFR), UV luminosity, and UV slope ($\beta$). We then model the $W_Ly\alpha$ distribution as a function of M$_UV$ and $\beta$ using a Bayesian approach. Based on our model and matching the properties of typical Lyman break galaxy (LBG) selections, we conclude that the $W_Ly\alpha$ distribution in such samples is heavily dependent on the limiting M$_UV$ of the survey. Regarding narrowband surveys, we find their $W_Ly\alpha$ selections to bias samples toward low M$_*$, while their line-flux limitations preferentially leave out low-SFR galaxies. We can also use our model to predict the fraction of Ly$\alpha$-emitting LBGs at $4z7$. We show that reported drops in the Ly$\alpha$ fraction at $z\geqslant6$, usually attributed to the rapidly increasing neutral gas fraction of the universe, can also be explained by survey M$_UV$ incompleteness. This result does not dismiss reionization occurring at $z\sim7$, but highlights that current data is not inconsistent with this process taking place at $z>7$.

@misc{oyarzun2017comprehensive, abstract = {We present an exhaustive census of Lyman alpha (Ly$\alpha$) emission in the general galaxy population at $3<z<4.6$. We use the Michigan/Magellan Fiber System (M2FS) spectrograph to study a stellar mass (M$_*$) selected sample of 625 galaxies homogeneously distributed in the range $7.6<\log{\mbox{M$_*$/M$_{\odot}$}}<10.6$. Our sample is selected from the 3D-HST/CANDELS survey, which provides the complementary data to estimate Ly$\alpha$ equivalent widths ($W_{Ly\alpha}$) and escape fractions ($f_{esc}$) for our galaxies. We find both quantities to anti-correlate with M$_*$, star-formation rate (SFR), UV luminosity, and UV slope ($\beta$). We then model the $W_{Ly\alpha}$ distribution as a function of M$_{UV}$ and $\beta$ using a Bayesian approach. Based on our model and matching the properties of typical Lyman break galaxy (LBG) selections, we conclude that the $W_{Ly\alpha}$ distribution in such samples is heavily dependent on the limiting M$_{UV}$ of the survey. Regarding narrowband surveys, we find their $W_{Ly\alpha}$ selections to bias samples toward low M$_*$, while their line-flux limitations preferentially leave out low-SFR galaxies. We can also use our model to predict the fraction of Ly$\alpha$-emitting LBGs at $4\leqslant z\leqslant 7$. We show that reported drops in the Ly$\alpha$ fraction at $z\geqslant6$, usually attributed to the rapidly increasing neutral gas fraction of the universe, can also be explained by survey M$_{UV}$ incompleteness. This result does not dismiss reionization occurring at $z\sim7$, but highlights that current data is not inconsistent with this process taking place at $z>7$.}, added-at = {2017-06-08T09:52:55.000+0200}, author = {Oyarzún, Grecco A. and Blanc, Guillermo A. and González, Valentino and Mateo, Mario and Bailey III, John I.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/297609ca1726f70959868298909b111dc/miki}, description = {[1706.01886] A Comprehensive Study of Ly$\alpha$ Emission in the High-redshift Galaxy Population}, interhash = {bc3fb6090b6b8d2f01ee65cbfd195b74}, intrahash = {97609ca1726f70959868298909b111dc}, keywords = {LBGs Lya emission high-z}, note = {cite arxiv:1706.01886Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ}, timestamp = {2017-06-08T09:52:55.000+0200}, title = {A Comprehensive Study of Ly$\alpha$ Emission in the High-redshift Galaxy Population}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1706.01886}, year = 2017 }